Last month, GOP Rep. C.W. Bill Young's death forced a special election in the Tampa Bay-area seat, making it one of the most competitive House contests in 2014. Operatives from both sides have characterized the March 11 special election as a bellwether contest for the 2014 cycle.

"We all knew that Bill had a special relationship with his constituents in that district, and that district had changed over the years and that when he no longer was serving, that that district would be a competitive district," Walden, an Oregon Republican, told reporters Friday morning at a Christian Science Monitor Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

A number of Republicans eyed bids for Young's seat, but donors and local officeholders have quickly moved to back lobbyist David Jolly.

"The filing deadline has not closed yet," Walden said. "There are a lot of people rallying around Mr. Jolly and there may be others who get in, and our job is that you pick the nominee and we go win the seat."

"The interesting thing is Ms. Sink will have some explaining to do about her tenure in Florida," Walden said. "She has to move across the bay to actually show up in the district, which I think has some set of issues associated with it. And so we plan to be on full offense there."

"There's a reason she didn't win the governorship, and we intend on making this a very competitive race," he added.

President Barack Obama carried the 13th District by slim margins in the past two presidential cycles.